Swinging
by Linxcat
Summary: Teddy Lupin dreams and reflects on what he has and hasn't got...rubbish summary


Some fuzzy-feeling one-shotness for you D

I don't own Harry Potter.

"Weeeeeee!" the boy shrieked, throwing his head back as he swung on the swing. He flew backwards through the air again, felt his father's strong hands push on the back of the seat and then he was gazing up at the blue summer sky again. Every time he experienced the peculiar swooping sensation in his stomach he would let out a loud yell and close his eyes.

"Higher daddy!" he called back over his shoulder. He heard his father chuckle and push harder. He kicked his legs up and leant so far backwards he felt sick, but he loved it.

"Higher!" he pleaded.

"If you go any higher you'll go upside-down!" the man laughed.

The little boy leant his head back to look at his father. He had brownish hair, turned almost blonde by the sun. There were a few grey streaks, which mummy had said looked more chestnut colour in the light and he had to agree. His cheeks and the bridge of his nose were a tinged pink from the heat, and his face and arms were tanned, so the scars hardly showed. If anyone asked, daddy would tell them he had been attacked by a vicious dog when he was younger. The boy knew it wasn't a dog that had attacked his daddy, but he wasn't going to tell anyone that.

Because of the heat, he was wearing a light blue shirt and faded jeans. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows as he pushed the swing. Despite it only being a week after full moon, he looked strong and healthy, his muscles pressing gently against the material of the shirt as he flexed his arms. The boy wondered whether he had been to the gym. Tommy next door said his daddy went to the gym to get big muscles.

"Please higher, daddy?" he used his sweetest voice, trying to use his metamorphing ability to make his eyes wider and rounder and bluer.

"You'll fall off!" the man warned.

"No I-"

But the boy had been so preoccupied trying to talk to daddy that he had forgotten to hold on. He toppled forwards at the peak of the swing's arc and plummeted to the bark-chipping floor - promptly bursting into tears.

Many mothers looked up at the sounds of the little child's distress and pain, but only one person came over. That was daddy and he swept him up in his big strong arms, whispering and touching his bloodied knees. Then the blood was gone and daddy was smiling at him.

"Didn't I say you'd fall off? Lucky it was only a graze!" Daddy grinned and winked at him. They both knew how the blood had gone and the cuts had healed, but neither were going to tell. They also both understood completely why the cap on the boy's head didn't come off when he swung, but that was a totally different secret.

"Thank you daddy," he breathed, wrapping his arms around his father's neck and hugging him tightly. Daddy squeezed him back, before placing him gently down on the ground.

"Why don't you go play on the slide?" he suggested. The boy nodded and raced over towards the other play equipment. The man headed over to a bench where his wife was. She was cradling a tiny baby in her arms, and smiled as she saw him. Her hair was dark brown, curling gently to her shoulders. Her face was slightly tanned, and heart-shaped, with bright sparkling blue eyes.

"Teddy tire you out?" she teased. He raised his eyebrows and flopped down on the bench beside her.

"Alice had her lunch yet?" he shot back, a smirk playing round his lips. She sent him a mock disapproving look.

"Did you hear that, Alice? Your daddy's got a very cheeky sense of humour. He thinks he's _so _funny!"

The two of them laughed and he slipped an arm around her.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, "You, Teddy and Alice. You're the best things that ever happened to me and-"

"DAAAADDDDYYYY!"

She rested her forehead against his.

"It seems you're wanted."

"I should hope so!" he replied, kissing her quickly on the forehead and climbing up to answer his son's wail. "Coming!"

The little boy cried out in delight as he saw his father jogging over. "Daddy!"

Then suddenly everything went fuzzy. He could only just make out his daddy if he squinted really hard…it was like looking through the frosty glass on the bathroom window, mummy had shown him it when they went to Grandma Andromeda's house…but frosty glass didn't make your eyes hurt and your head spin and everything go

Black.

Teddy closed his eyes and breathed in, resting his forehead against the shower door as the hot water cascaded down him.

That was the third time that week he'd had that dream. It wasn't a nightmare. It could never be a nightmare. It was a fantasy. Not even spawned from memories, it was something that had never happened and could never happen.

Teddy reached up and turned off the shower, hopping out, drying himself and tugging on his jeans and t-shirt. He crept through the bedroom, praying that the mixture of his clumsiness and heavy footfalls wouldn't wake Victoire. He tiptoed across the landing, and tried to climb along the skirting board to miss out the creaking floorboard, but got a stubbed toe for his troubles. He reached the window and opened it. He took a deep breath and gazed out at the night sky.

Harry had once told him about all the different star constellations that were named after famous dead people. He had asked whether his parents had stars too.

"They don't, but there are so many stars, I'm sure there are two to spare for them." He replied.

"Those two, over there, diagonal to the North Star. That way I can always tell which ones are theirs!"

Teddy leaned out of the window and searched for the two stars. There they were.

"Hey mum, dad. I had that dream again. I miss you. Harry said that you'd always look out for me up there…you'll look out for Vikki too, won't you? And Isabelle and Remy. I know they'd love you if they met you. They ask me for the story about the two wolves every night! I told them everything Harry told me - about how great you guys were, how brave and loving…Remy asked me the other day if he could talk to you and I showed him your stars. He recited a little speech, it was really cute, did you hear it? Oh, and Victoire's got a job interview tomorrow. I think she was joking when she said she wouldn't mind some of 'Tonks' infamous spunk' but if there's any way…? Thanks mum. Love you both, I'll talk to you again tomorrow."

Teddy smiled as he turned away from the window; he felt like a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He eased the door beside him open and peered in.

There were two beds in the room and two children sleeping. In the first bed was a little boy with sandy-brown hair. As he turned in his sleep, a waterfall of red gushed down and suddenly he looked very much like a Weasley. Teddy beamed and moved on.

In the second bed was the little boy's older sister. She had white-blonde hair that trailed all down her back. In the moonlight, it glinted almost strawberry-blonde. She looked very much like her mum but had a mischievous streak that was marauder-worthy. He bent to sweep her hair from her face and kissed her on the nose.

Whenever Teddy missed his parents, he would always go and spend time with his children. Something inside of him had made raising his children well almost a duty. He wanted to be with them all the time, and be the father _his_ father had never got a chance to be.

And as he watched his two children sleeping, thought about his wife curled up in bed and remembered the loving sacrifice his parents had made for him, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.


End file.
